Ovation Instruments, Inc. produces 350 guitars a week. In the past, detail work was done by hand, using a jigsaw, files, and carving tools. But as the company experienced greater demand for its guitars, it needed a way to increase production efficiency. Using a CNC machine for cutting and routing, along with Mastercam, the PC-based CNC programming system from CNC Software, Inc., Tolland, Connecticut, has proved to be an effective solution. Once the geometry has been imported or created in Mastercam, the software generates contouring and roughing paths for the CNC machine almost automatically. Once the CNC machine is set up, it cuts as many as 40 inlays in 20 minutes, relieving employees of repetitious work and freeing them to perform other tasks. The efficiency of the new system has carried over to custom guitar detailing, enabling Ovation to lower the cost of this service and make it available to more performers.

Ovation Instruments has come along way since founder Charlie Kaman started making guitars in a helicopter blade factory more than 25 years ago. His commitment to build guitars using the latest aerospace technology and traditional New England craftsmanship set the stage for rapid growth. Many of the 130 employees in New Hartford have been with the company since its beginning, and they are widely regarded as some of the best guitar makers anywhere.

In the past, pre-cut mother of pearl inlays were purchased from Germany; all other detail work was done by hand at the Connecticut facility. Someone would first draw the wood figures at twice their size and then reduce them using a Pantograph machine. Then a steel master template was produced. Rough cutting was done using a small jig saw, and the pieces were refined using a handsaw and special file. These steps tool several days, not including cutting cavities in the fingerboard or peghead; a process that took several more days. Not only was this manual process time-consuming, but it was also tiring. Employees could only concentrate on it for a few hours at a time, then they would have to stop and switch to another task. And every time the company came up with a new inlay design, a toolmaker had to make a new steel master template.